Resurrection
by kelleyphant
Summary: Sirius is alive and wants to give Regulus a second chance at life. What will the young Black do with this second chance life?
1. Chapter 1

Resurrection

Chapter I

Revivalism

It was a hot and sticky night, the only soul alive in the small graveyard was one very upset Sirius Black. He had faked his death. The night of the ministry raid he'd concocted a double image of himself. It was like he knew he would have died. Actually, he did. He'd dreamed it several days before and thought of a plan to prevent the happening. Although he had Harry, his best friends only son, he felt incomplete, but Sirius had a plan.

He'd called on a good friend who he'd known since his second year at Hogwarts, Cerise Von Astaire. They had met at a social event hosted by her father to commemorate some German holiday. She had never gone to Hogwarts, her parents disapproved of it, but that didn't mean she wasn't any good with magic - she just used a different kind than other witches and wizards. Ancient and often forbidden magic was her specialty.

Sirius had been staring at the dirty stone slab for several minutes going over in his head whether or not he should really wake Regulus from such a peaceful sleep. He was so entranced that he did not see Cerise stand right next to him.

"Evening, Sirius." He snapped out of his trance and nearly fell over, his folly gaining a sultry giggle from the woman next to him "Why may I ask did you say to meet in a graveyard?"

Regaining his composure, he quietly said "You see this grave? This is my brother."

He motioned solemnly to the stone slap that over the years had collected dirt and grime. Cerise knew instantly what Sirius wanted.

"Oh no! No can do Sirius. I can't just bring someone back to life. It...it screws up history!"

"You've done it before."

"Sirius, that was a bird."

"So?"

"No. End of conversation."

He returned his thoughts to his brother and whether or not he should just forget it. Cerise looked upon his face. He looked so deep in thought that it was so unlike Sirius.

"What're you thinking?"

"Just…I really think he could have been something great."

There was a moment of silence between the two and she took this time to light up a much needed cigarette. Sirius saw this and winced.

"Those things really aren't good for you ya' know." Cerise looked up and smiled.

"These don't affect me. I cannot be poisoned by such things."

Sirius did not know what to say to this, so he just turned back to his thoughts. Cerise had never seen the man look so sad. His eyes were cloudy and dark. She was always a sucker for those eyes.

"Fine. I'll do it, just don't mention it to anyone. Technically, I could be imprisoned for doing this. Ancient magic such as this is dangerous and is strictly forbidden. Should something go wrong, it's your problem, you didn't see me, you don't even know who I am. Understood?"

Without hesitation, Sirius cried yes.

"Okay. Stand back." She warned, throwing the finished cigarette on the ground and stomping on the butt.

Cerise kneeled down and placed both hands on the quaint gravestone. Seconds later, a glowing blue light came from underneath her hands, engulfing the whole stone slab. Sparks that could have been mistaken for lightening came around the two of them. As Sirius witnessed all of this, memories of years past came flooding into his mind about he and his younger brother. The two of them had been inseparable before Sirius had "betrayed" and mudded up the honorable Black name. After so many years of being alone he would once again be able to see the younger Black and maybe steer him in a better direction. A final blinding white light awoke him from his reverie and he was now looking at the form of young Regulus A. Black.


	2. Chapter 2

Resurrection

Chapter II

Home-Coming

D: I do not own HP

A final blinding white light awoke him from his reverie and he was now looking at the form of young Regulus A. Black. Sirius looked on in amazement. He could not find words that could describe what he saw. He already knew what Cerise was capable of, he just did not think it was possible that she could revive a human with such perfection. Regulus looked just as he had the last time Sirius saw him, before he'd moved in with James.

"Hmm…not the most handsome of boys, but he has potential." He could hear her say. Cerise studied Sirius' face for a moment, noting his deer-in-headlights expression. She laughed inwardly about it. "How's he look?"

"G-great. Just like he did when I last saw him." He did not take his eyes off of Regulus' sleeping body.

"Awesome. Now if you don't mind, I'm really tired. Let's go."

"Wait a minute, Cerise, what do I do now?" Cerise looked at him like he was retarded, he often got that look.

"What do you think? Take him home. He'll be sleeping for a couple days before you can actually do anything together. That trip he just took is a long one." Sirius made a mental note on that as he picked up his brother.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"Well actually, I was going to back to Germany to be with my mother, I haven't seen her in almost half a year. But now I just don't have enough energy to transport myself there."

"Well, you're welcome to stay with me."

"Where? You do know you're presumed dead, and Harry has ownership of Grimuald." Sirius mentally slapped himself, remembering everything that had happened.

"Well he can't be living there now, Hogwarts is still in session." Boy was he smooth. He always had been.

She giggled a little at his remarkable come-back. "Okay then, I'll stay with you tonight. It would probably be best for your brother too, in case he should have any complications."

"Right then. Let's get going. Grab on to me, Reese."

Seconds later, all three of them were standing in the middle of the dark, musty living room of 12 Grimuald Place.

"Now, if you don't mind, I think I will set myself to sleep." Cerise stated.

"Yeah, okay, uh…Let me show you a guest room that isn't atrocious." He set Regulus down on a lounge chair and showed her upstairs.

The place really hadn't changed much. The same old cobwebs were in their same old bookshelves and ceiling corners and caked on dust still blanketed the floors and walls. All this dust has to go. 'I'll remind myself later.' Sirius mused to himself.

"Here we are." He motioned to a rather tall door with an ancient doorknob. "Have a good night Reese." He said as he opened the door for her.

"Thank you, Sirius, and you have a good sleep as well." She said, closing the door quietly.

As he returned downstairs, he passed the portrait of his mother. She appeared to be sleeping. Taking no chances, he pulled the drapes over her face and continued on his way. When he made it to the darkly furnished living room where Regulus laid, he saw that the sleeping body of his brother had moved, proving he really had returned. The boy had moved from the lounge chair to the big sofa. Sirius first thought Kreacher might have found him and moved him to a more comfortable spot, but then he knew Kreacher would be sleeping at the moment as well. The time was well past four in the morning and Sirius really needed to get to sleep. He picked up his brother once again and took him upstairs to his old room. With that task complete, Sirius himself went to sleep in his own room.

Cerise woke up the next morning well rested and feeling the urge to cook something. So, she got up, got dressed (she'd brought a change of clothes with her) and headed downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat. She soon found out that she was not alone in wanting a breakfast. There was shadowy figure standing at the open refrigerator, the only source of light in the room.

"Morning!" She chimed in a sweet voice. The mysterious figure quickly shut the door and jumped back nearly a foot in surprise. Cerise created a light to reveal a rather pale and small framed mini-version of Sirius.

'No, how is he already up and…moving about? He shouldn't be awake for another day at the least.' She pushed this thought away though because she already knew the answer, because he was no ordinary boy, he was a Black.

"What do you want for breakfast? I'll make it for you." The frightened boy looked Cerise up and down, judging her, no doubt.

"Who are you? How'd you get in my house?" Regulus managed to blurt out without sounding like he was feeling, and that was scared. Cerise smiled and cooly replied.

"Darlin', this isn't your house. It's your brother's. And the name's Cerise. I'm a friend of your idiot brother."

Regulus' face, she thought, was priceless. She made her way to the Cabinets and fumbled around for anything that she could call food. After searching for five long minutes, she found nothing, so in desperation she conjured supplies to make pancakes and sausage and charmed them to cook themselves. She then sat at the table, motioning for Regulus to join her. He hesitated but sat down with her anyway.

"How do you feel this morning? Any pain?"

"Why?" He was very confused, especially now that she had one of his arms in her hands and she was turning it over and over. He hoped she wouldn't find the mark that was on his other arm. "What are you doing?"

Cerise glanced up and caught his dark eyes. They were sunken in and it looked as if he had two black eyes. He didn't look healthy in the least.

"Don't worry about it hun, I'm just checking for bruises or scratches, blemishes of any kind really." He pulled his arm back from her and stared at her hard.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Well, you see, you've been dead for a while. I have to see if you need any extra…oh it's too complicated." She quickly finished. Cerise then stood up from the table saying, "Breakfast should be ready. Go and get your brother, please."

And with that she walked to the self-made breakfast. She smiled to herself as she did so, proud of her accomplishment. She'd given life to someone who'd been long dead. That was definitely something to be proud of, right? 'He does look a bit sickly, but I suppose that could've been how he'd always looked.' she mused as she set the table for breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3

Resurrection

Chapter III

Catching Up

D: I'll let you know when an owl comes to my door and says I have ownership.

Sirius awoke later that morning with a splitting headache. When he opened his eyes he saw a fuzzy picture of a little green, wrinkly thing. He instantly knew who it was.

"Kreacher, what is it?"

"There is a strange woman in your kitchen master, and she-"

"Oh that's just Cerise, she must be cooking."

It was in this moment that he knew why he was suffering from a headache. His head had somehow ended up on the floor while the rest of his body was still on the bed. Kreacher took his masters confusion as an oncoming question and grumbled an answer.

"Kreacher tried to wake master Sirius up."

"Ah, well…good job, I'm up. Now, go fetch me some asprin." Kreacher disappeared mumbling something about ignorant masters or something or another. There was then a knock on the door. Sirius, thinking it was Cerise, jumped out of bed and found clothes that were not torn or dirty or that smelled awful. "Come in." He voiced towards the door. He was just pulling a shirt over his head when Regulus stepped in. Sirius paused midway and stared at the boy. "Oh, hey Regs! How'd you sleep?"

"Just fine, Sirius. It was nice to sleep in my own bed." Regulus made his way to the bed and sat down. Sirius watched his brother with mild interest. He finished dressing and sat down on the floor to chat with his brother.

"So, what's it like...being dead?" He said it in a joking manner as older brothers do, but Regulus did not think it was a joke.

"Well why don't you try it?" He snapped. Sirius could sense that he had asked the wrong thing.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just curious." Sirius squirmed in his spot on the floor, fixing his eyes on the dusty windows. "I should probably fill you in on everything that's happened, huh?" He continued. No answer.

Sirius began explaining everything anyway. He began with The Potters death and ended with the most current event he could think of. The whole story took a little over an hour and a half. There was a soft knock at the door and Regulus remembered what he came in here to do, and that was to get Sirius to come downstairs.

"Guys, really now," Came the voice of a very disgruntled Cerise. "I had breakfast ready for you, but it's cold now!"

"Oh, that's right; I was supposed to drag you downstairs to eat." Regulus confessed. Sirius just knocked his head back in laughter.

"Cerise, love, I'm sorry. Come in. Regulus and I were just catching up." Cerise opened the door slowly and immediately looked at Sirius.

"Please, don't call me love." This statement caused another fit of mad laughs from Sirius. "I'm not kidding, Sirius. Now go eat before the flies of this house take a liking to your pancakes!"

Sirius wrapped her in a playful hug as a brother would to his sister. Regulus looked at the two of them, confused as to whether he should be disgusted or just indifferent. He chose indifferent. He also, was the first to hop up and head back downstairs. He sure was hungry, and pancakes happened to be one of his favorite meals...although he didn't know why, really. Mrs. Black never did cook much, she left most domestic things to the house elves.

Breakfast was relatively quiet, almost awkward. Sirius read the paper and Regulus read upside-down, a common occurrence in the mornings of the past. Cerise curiously looked at the two brothers, reminding her of her own family. She finished her meal, cleaned up and turned back to the brothers.

"I need to leave." She said quickly. Sirius said nothing but nodded his shaggy head, subconsciously telling Cerise he and Regulus would be fine on their own. Cerise made her leave and the brothers were soon left alone.

"Well," Sirius began. "What now?"

"I don't know."

"I was thinking of cleaning this place up a bit. I can hardly breath, there's so much dust."

"That would be nice. What about Kreacher?"

"Oh…yeah well, could we lock him in the attic, along with mother?" Regulus shot his elder brother a curious look.

"You put mother in the attic?"

"No no no! Not yet at least." Sirius picked up his and Regulus' dishes and placed them in the sink, charming them to wash themselves as he did so. Regulus looked at him unbelieving of what he'd just heard. "She's so bothersome. It's a good place for her." Sirius explained. "It's difficult to bring a lady friend home if she's awake."

Regulus rolled his eyes but laughed inwardly because he knew of Sirius' playboy habits. "So who is Cerise?"

Sirius turned to the door. "She's a really good friend of mine; we met at an event in Russia sometime ago." Regulus was fairly certain of what 'really good friend' was but he decided to ask anyway. This warranted a smirk and a laugh from Sirius.

"Not that way you sick, sick pervert. She's more like a sister to me. I care too much about her to ever have slept with her, if you can believe that." Regulus, he saw, appeared relieved. "Now c'mon. We've got work to do."

With that said, he headed to the attic. Regulus stayed behind shaking his head with a weak smile spread across his face and then he too, went upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Resurrection

Chapter 4

Discovered

D: These things really are quite annoying.

Although school was still in, the trio was given a short break so that they could devise a plan to set everything right again. Professor Trelawney had warned them of inevitable danger, which, they just ignored, but Professor McGonagall took the warning to heart and sent the three away with Tonks and Remus. There'd been another slight attack within the school, but it was not enough to send every student home early. The only lives lost were a few of the house elves, which of course got Hermione started on how cruel their lives were and how humans were too lazy to do their own work. Still, the attack had grabbed the order's attention and this is why they'd come to Grimmuald on a Monday.

"I still don't understand why we had to leave on a weekday. I have an essay due today." Hermione whined, "Couldn't it have waited until the weekend?"

"No. And besides now you have extra time to do your essay." Ron argued.

Harry smiled at his two bickering friends. He wondered if they'd ever stop their incessant babbles about nothing. The group carefully looked around them to be sure no one spotted them. Tonks confirmed that they were the only ones on the street and urged them forward. Harry unlocked and opened the door revealing the familiar stuffy smell of the ancient house. The group quietly came in so as not to disturb the portrait of Mrs. Black. This was when Harry stopped suddenly, causing the others to stop as well.

"Do any of you smell that?" The others sniffed curiously around the room for any funny smell that may have alerted their leader.

"I smell pancakes." Ron confessed.

"That's odd." Remus commented and stole to the kitchen. He came back in a moment later with Kreacher.

"Kreacher was hungry master, made himself breakfast." The ancient house elf lied, to protect his real master, who was upstairs at the moment, cleaning out old objects in the attic. The ugly being cracked a trademark grin and popped upstairs. There was a noise above the group that captured their attention. Hermione started up the stairs but was stopped by Harry.

"Don't." He had a hold on her arm that meant what he said. "Let us go with you." She gave him a look that said she was a big girl but she paused and nodded anyway. So she, Harry, and Tonks all went up together. Ron and Remus stayed behind to have a look downstairs.

"So," Ron began "when are you going to propose to Tonks?" He teased. Remus rolled his eyes and threw a couch pillow at the joking red-head. Ron instinctively shielded his face with his arms. "You know you'd be such a great couple. You're both beautiful people, the beautifuls should always be together."

Remus paused in his pillow throwing to look at Ron. Where did Ron hear such a thing? The boy knew the on coming question and quickly explained. "I heard my mother saying something like that. I asked Hermione about it and she agreed. The beautiful people deserve to be together and have a beautiful privileged life together and have beautiful privileged children together."

Remus shot one more pillow that managed to penetrate Ron's arm shield. It hit the boys face and caused dust to fly out and made the boy sneeze. "Ew…this place really needs to be cleaned up."

"Well then, clean it up." Remus ordered as he arranged everything again.

Ron took slight offense to that remark and backfired saying "I don't know how to clean. My own room hasn't been dusted in years, and mum won't step one toe in it."

"Molly's probably afraid she'll find dead rabbits or something in there."

"I don't hoard dead rabbits in my room, or any animal for that matter. There may be an old sandwich under my bed, but that's about it."

"I was just joking. Come on, let's find something decent to eat."

"Can you cook?"

"Fairly well, I'm not a chef but I can cook some thing edible." He moved into the kitchen followed by the red head who at this moment, was a little frightened.

… … …

The two brothers were so engrossed with looking through the attic that neither of them had heard anyone come in. Currently, Sirius was looking through an old family album he'd found under a pile of other things.

"Reggie, look at this old thing." He breathed. The younger brother inched over curious at what his older brother had found.

It was an old photo album. The book was bound by dead vines and the pages were ripped but the pictures were in surprisingly good condition. The pictures moved in their respective manners. There was a picture of the entire Black family as it was before Sirius was born. Uncle Alfred was still alive and smiling cheerfully in this particular picture. The boy's father looked to be the youngest and there was no sign of their mother anywhere.

"This must be before our parents were married."

"But if that's the entire Black family, why wouldn't she be in there? She is his cousin, disturbingly enough."

"Your right, but I think this is our father's immediate family. You know; his mother, father, brothers or whatever." Regulus whispered an 'oh' and continued with what he'd been doing before.

Sirius, he saw, was still entranced by the photo album. It was in this moment that he heard muffled sounds below him. It came from the second floor. He didn't think much on it because he knew how Kreacher had the habit of making rounds around the house. It wasn't until the sounds became voices that he did anything about it.

"Sirius," he said, "Sirius there's someone here." Sirius looked up from the book and stared at his brother.

"That's impossible. This place is charmed so much. The only reason Mirie could get in was because I was with her. As long as there's a Black with the person trying to get here, they can."

Regulus just ignored this crazy explanation and readied himself at the door. "Just come over here." He demanded, receiving a look of annoyance from his brother. Sirius did so as quietly as he could and the second he settled down he recognized those voices.

"Harry and Hermione are here? They're supposed to be in school."

"Who?"

"My um…godson and his friend. They're both students at Hogwarts but…why or how they're here, I have no idea." Sirius hid himself further away from the groups view and just watched. Regulus did much the same but watched with interest. 'His godson? That's Harry? He doesn't look like much to me.' He thought to himself.

Sirius had of course explained every bit of detail with Regulus about everything that had happened. At least, everything he knew. So of course, he'd said something about Harry being his godson and what all he was capable of. Some parts of Sirius' tale Regulus was not fond of, namely, the parts where Harry and his lunatic friends were trying to put an end to the Dark Lord. Regulus still felt in obligation to the foul man, albeit he could hardly be called a man anymore. So there the two were, unsure of where to go.

… … …

"I'm not seeing anything Harry." Announced Tonks. So far, the three had looked in nearly every room but a few.

"Well…there is the attic." He glanced up the dark steps that led to the darkest room in the house, which, was quite a feat, every room was as dark as rooms come.

"Do you two know we haven't done what we came here to do?" Hermione reminded.

Tonks and Harry, both ascending the attic stairs turned their heads and looked upon the girl like they had no idea what she was getting at. Hermione took this as offensive and threw up her hands in annoyance.

"Forget it!" she then stormed downstairs to look for Remus and Ron. Harry and Tonks shrugged it off and continued up.

The first thing they noticed was papers and boxes strewn all along the floorboards. "What a mess." Tonks commented. She walked carefully along the far wall, watching her steps so as not to bother any of the papers. "Kreacher must have been up here." She then came across the old photo album and studied the picture in front of her. Two young boys were playing around, wrestling each other for a spot in the picture. The eldest boy didn't look to be much older than eight. Tonks knew almost immediately that she was looking at a child Sirius and his younger brother, what was his name? 'Regulus' she remembered.

"Harry, come look at this." She said with amusement. Harry made his way over to her, leaving his own area; which was where the Black brothers had been hiding.

"Wow, they're so young there. Is there a date anywhere?" Tonks turned the picture over in her hand. There was scribbled writing on the top left corner. Sirius & Regulus, June 5th, 19…the rest of the year had been smudged away.

"They look so happy here." Tonks breathed. "It's just awful what happened to them."

Sirius knew what she was referring to and also knew what photo they were looking at. It happened to be one of his favorites. It was taken before he attended Hogwarts and before he turned away from his own family. They had been so happy at that time. He couldn't help but feel a tinge guilty for not being sorted into Slytherin, but that guilt slid away when he really opened his eyes to what evil his family had for so long been a part of. He wanted so much to relieve his younger brother of that pressure. He wanted to be that older brother that Regulus could look up to, but he was never given the chance...and that's what bothered him.

Regulus looked on in interest at the two strangers in his attic that, for one reason or another, he was hiding from. He wasn't the bravest person in the world, but he also wasn't one to stay hidden for long. He was stubborn like that. He wasn't, however, the one to ruin their cover. Sirius somehow managed to bump his head on the wall which of course caught the attention of Harry and Tonks.

"OW!" He whispered and then cursed when he'd realized his mistake." Regulus rolled his dark eyes, annoyed at his brother's stupidity.

Both Tonks and Harry swiftly turned their heads toward the sound. "Who's there?" Harry asked to no one in particular. There was silence for a few seconds or so and then the attic door slowly swung closed to expose just Sirius' dark form. Harry stood frozen with a frightened look on his face; Tonks clapped her hands on her mouth and let out a surprised scream. Sirius tried quieting her by a series of shushes, but that did not help matters.

"Now, uh…please don't be alarmed, it's just me." He tried to reason. He must have forgotten they think he's dead. Harry still stood frozen, unable to speak, while Tonks' remained afraid of the man before her.

… … …

Remus had just managed to get a few sandwiches on the kitchen table when he heard the distinct cry of fright come from Tonks. Ron paused in mid-chew with the look of confusion on his freckly face. Hermione also stopped eating and whipped her head to the kitchen door. Ron was afraid she might've gotten whiplash. All three of them stormed out of the room and hurried upstairs, leaving their lunch behind.

They reached the attic in seconds, Remus, with his wand at the ready, swung the door open further, causing the door to hit against Regulus and pin him against the wall. Regulus, in response, let out a string of curse words.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Oh goddamn that fucking hurt!" This was all the group heard and Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed. Remus knew doors didn't generally talk unless charmed to do so, so this piqued his interest. Ron and Hermione ran to Harry and that's when they too saw Sirius.

"Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed "But you're supposed to be dead!" Sirius nodded with a grin on his face.

"Not really, can't explain that right now. Um…let us go downstairs to talk about it."

"Sirius," This time it was Remus who spoke. "Doors don't generally speak."

"I know that." He limped over to the door and closed it again. This revealed his brother, who was currently holding a hand to his mouth to keep him from talking. The heroes all stared in that direction, speechless. Regulus took this as his cue to stand up, stare back at them and walk out of the attic. "Look at that, you scared him. Good going guys." Then he himself went downstairs.

This left the others confused. Remus was the first to leave and return to the kitchen. For whatever reason, he knew that's where Sirius went.


	5. Chapter 5

Resurrection

Chapter 5

That One Letter

D: I still don't have ownership

All the way downstairs Sirius was bombarded with all kinds of dumb questions. He blatantly ignored all of them and when the excited group reached Mrs. Black's portrait, those expecting a shrill cry covered their ears. Sure enough, Mrs. Black awoke and with her curtains still drawn, yelled at the trespassers.

"Who is this in my house? How dare they waltz in and expect hospitality! Kreacher! Kreacher where are you? You are not doing your job!"

Sirius could no longer take her cries. He screamed back saying, "Oh do shut up mother!" He unhooked her angry face from the wall and set it on the ground face-down. "Now, as I said, kitchen, everyone!"

Every soul turned away from the screaming portrait to the man in front of them that they all considered no longer living.

"But Sirius," Remus demanded. "You do realize the potential issues right? Bringing someone from the grave can have undesired effects!"

Sirius answered with a simple, "I know and I've already looked into that." He sat down at the table next to Regulus who, at this moment, was watching a moth in the boarded up window flutter about. Sirius concernedly looked at his brother and then followed his eyes to the moth. "Right. Uh…Regs, it's called a moth."

"I know that! I'm not retarded. I wish, though, that I could say the same for you." Harry took that unpleasantly and began to retort back but Sirius cut him off before hand. He gave Harry a look that said 'Don't say a word or I'll send you back to the Dursley's.'

Remus sat at the table watching the two before him. "Sirius, please tell me why. That's all I want."

Sirius turned his gaze to his friend but said nothing. Tonks sighed and sat down. "Just…how did you manage something as monumental as this?"

"I had help."

"A friend of his." Regulus added. If they were going to talk about him, he might as well have some say. Harry still looked un-amused and slightly wary of the strange boy that looked his age. His eyes strayed to Hermione's face, who seemed a tad disgusted at the new edition.

Sirius ignored all the odd looks and picked up an uneaten sandwich. He had forgotten how hungry he was. He offered one to Regulus who refused saying he was not hungry.

"Well Sirius, what are we going to do?" Remus was tired of Sirius' quiet game.

"What'd'ya' mean by that?" The dark haired dog-man did not like how this meeting was going and attempted to avoid every question thrown this way. Remus was getting quite annoyed now at his good friend. He'd done a lot of dumb things since they'd known each other, but this incident really got to him.

Tonks cleared her throat to relieve the tension and addressed the younger brother in a sweet voice. "Regulus, is it? H-how long have you…you know, been around?"

"Just a couple days. Is there a problem?" Nearly every question thrown at him he'd think of as insulting.

"N-no, there is no problem with it. I was just asking is all."

"Oh." Regulus did not know how to respond to these strangers. They were in his home, and that's all he really knew about them. "I think…I will go upstairs now."

Sirius sadly watched his brother stand up and leave the kitchen. He was worried for him, more than usual. Regulus was the only family member other than Uncle Alfred that he had any remorse for. Maybe he didn't think things through like he thought he had.

"Sirius, what possessed you to do something like this?" Remus continued to barrage him with wordy missiles. "Also, how are you, yourself still here? We all thought you died."

Sirius grinned. He knew how to answer the latter, but he himself had yet to find the answer the first inquiry. "Well, to answer your second question, I made a double of myself." He took another bite of his sandwich with a ridiculous smile spread across his face. "I had a nightmare several nights before our raid, so I knew it was coming. I didn't want to die then, so, I quite simply put a double in my place and hid out here."

"We were so sure you'd died, Sirius!" Hermione cried. "It was so sad!"

"Well, now you have no reason to sad. I really am sorry for any unneeded grief my fake passing has caused you guys."

Harry hadn't said a thing since they'd all come into the kitchen, nor had Ron. What could they say that, quite honestly, hadn't already been said?

"I apologize to you, especially, Harry. Really, I should have said something. I guess I forgot."

Harry didn't say a word, just nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"I have to say, Sirius, this whole thing, you getting your younger brother back and all, seems a bit selfish." Tonks tried to make the statement sound not as terrible as it came out sounding. Sirius knew, though, that she meant well.

"Hey now, don't worry about it. I understand your concern. I'm fine though. Just let me work it out by myself." With that he left the table and climbed the creaky staircase. His thoughts bothered him all the way to his room and landed with him to his bed. His last train of thought before he nodded off was 'is it selfish, to want to help the one bit of family you actually care for?'

… … …

The weather outside increasingly became nasty and caused everyone to be on edge; mainly because they were stuck inside a house that was not very much livable. The clouds were black blankets and covered the afternoon sun, so that the day turned into early night. Everyone was getting increasingly bored and even dared to think he or she wanted to return to work or school. Sirius had not come back down since he had left the kitchen and no one really wondered where Regulus was. Each was in his or her own world, shutting out everything else. Harry and Ron resorted to playing Wizard's Chess, Hermione had grabbed a lengthy book from the library; Remus too, had a book and Tonks napped on the old couch.

Then, suddenly, there came a loud clap that awoke the group's senses. They each spastically looked around the room for any sign and Hermione then remembered it was raining. So the loud crack had just been a powerful bit of thunder. This nothingness continued for another hour or so before Sirius once again showed himself, a very groggy self. He stumbled down the creaky staircase, rubbing his eyes and yawing one huge yawn. He paused at the bottom stair, gazing half-heartedly at the people he considered close friends. He then thought no more of it and shuffled into the kitchen.

… … …

Regulus had been in his darkened room for who knows how long. He fumbled through his old things, remembering nearly every detail about his miserable life. If only he had never joined the death eaters. If only he'd been like his older brother, the guy he admired and wanted so much to model himself after. If only…but it was much too late for that now. Perhaps the reason Sirius went through the trouble of bringing him back was so that he'd have another chance to see the good in what Sirius believed in. One thing that bothered him though, why did Sirius not choose to bring his best friends back? Why him? It didn't really make much sense but then, his elder brother rarely made sense. As he thought this, he came across a postcard that Sirius had sent to him from France. Sirius and his friends had gone there one summer because James' parents had let them use it for the summer. Regulus had never spoken to the guy, but knew plenty enough about him.

He knew he was a 'blood traitor' and that his own parents despised them but could tolerate being in the same room because the Potter family was just as distinguished and noble as the Black family. Regulus also knew James claimed to be the eighth-generation-great-grandson or something to the one and only Godric Gryffindor. This was only because the Potters owned a magnificent ceiling chandelier that was once owned by the man. Regulus had seen a photo of it once, diamond droplets and bronze metal workings and the candles always stayed lit and gooey wax never poured down the sides and never ran out. Sirius had said it was the most elegant thing he'd ever seen and that he'd never lay eyes upon another like it.

Regulus snapped out of that reverie and back to the postcard he was holding. He read the lazy handwriting with a bit of difficulty. It read:

_Dear brother Regulus,_

_I hope you are keeping well and clear of mother's vicious wrath. I am rather enjoying myself here in France. We're staying around the countryside and it is marvelous (heh, marvelous-that's a right funny word there). You really should see these views. I've been doing the muggle thing lately, hiking and whatnot._

_Lilly, you remember her right? She says we need to be more careful so as not to hurt ourselves. What a sweetheart eh? She really needs to lighten up. The only reason she agreed to come with us was so that she didn't have to be near her sister. Anyway kid, these girls here are absolutely gorgeous, I'll have to send you a photo of some._ 'He never did do that', he thought to himself.

_Well, I've gotta say, I do miss mum's boring lectures, do say hello for me. Oh! Tell her I love and miss her very much, and just watch her face, hehe, I can see it now._

_I've got to go now, though, we're all going out to dinner. I think I'll eat some escargot…or maybe not. EW, snails…James says he ordered them once because he didn't know what it was, and they came on his plate still moving around. HAHA! It was a classic moment, he jumped out of his chair nearly three feet! Oh, how I wish I could've been there._

_Right, leaving. You have a good summer Regs, I will try and kidnap you from home and take you out somewhere so you can escape mum's claws._'He never did that, either'.

_Your favorite brother,_

_Sirius_

Regulus remembered receiving this letter late one night and remembered vividly what his mother had said when he did what Sirius had asked him to do. Their mother stared long and hard with a blank face and chin slightly up. 'Well that's lovely.' She'd said. It had come out with the venomous tone she was so well known for. Regulus enjoyed that response and sometimes wished he could have the audacity to toy with his mother the way Sirius had. Sirius was everything he was not, and he kicked himself mentally for not having that power. Sirius had taken it all, leaving not but a pinch of rebel behind in his wake.

Maybe that was the reason for joining the death eaters. Not because his parents had nearly forced him into it, but because he wanted so badly to gain some kind of formidability. He wanted to claim some ounce of bravery of his own, not that he was a coward, he just did not have that certain oomph he wanted. Looking back now, that may have been the worst decision he had ever made.

Regulus often felt out of place during the meetings and he also felt that he was the weakest link. He even thought more than once that he just did not belong there with people he never truly considered friends. His existence, at that time, was meaningless. He feared he would never find that meaning, at least, not the way he was going about life. Increasingly he thought of rebelling against the Dark Lord and he did just that. That was when…someone in the group had found out Regulus' plan and…

His mind flashed back to his last moments, he tried stifling them. He did not want to think of them, the memory hurt too much. Those images never materialized, he'd blocked them out from his mind. He was thankful for that.

The storm finally subsided and he stuffed everything back where it was. His stomach gurgled, letting him know it was angry at him. He obeyed his stomach and headed back down to the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

Resurrection

Chapter 6

Proposition at Meeting

D: Do not own HP

Sirius awoke with a start from his dreamless sleep. He held his glassy eyed gaze at the grand window that looked out to the back gardens. It had stopped raining. His thoughts slowly drifted to his earlier actions, and whether they were selfish like Remus had said, or not. He did see how the wolf man came to his conclusion but he didn't like it. What was he thinking, bringing back a person long since gone?

"Now don't be getting second thoughts now," Came a soft voice from across the room. "I'm not sure I want to undo something like that." Sirius looked around half heartedly and his deadpan gaze met with Cerise's sharp brown eyes. He snorted with a half smile across is face.

"How is it you know what I'm thinking?"

A coy smile formed on her lips and as she made her way toward the scruffed up man. "I just can."

"Well as long as you're not in my head I think I'll be okay." The two giggled quietly before settling on just being quiet. Sirius was the first to speak. "So what did you come back for? Weren't you seeing your mum?"

"I saw her. She's doing okay now. My brothers are taking good care of her in my absence.

"Ah, that's good. Next time you go, tell them all I said 'hey'."

"Hmm I will sir."

And it was silent once again.

As Regulus was making his way downstairs he couldn't help but overhear the conversation taking place downstairs. He stopped to listen, breathing only shallow breaths.

"…but you must admit, we do not know if he could suddenly return to who he was before he passed away. He may think of a way to return to the Dark Lord."

"That may be so, but do you honestly think he could still be of use to him? I remember being told that he was one of the weakest members."

"Well why don't we just ask someone who knows something about this?"

It was quiet for a moment. And then the same person's voice drifted up to Regulus' ears.

"Severus?" Regulus' eyes grew wider when he heard the name and even wider when the voice followed shortly after. He did his best to listen better but that effort was squandered when Sirius and that woman came walking down the hall.

"Regs, You're up!"

"Hush, Sirius!" He gasped. He then turned back around hoping to still catch something of importance. Sirius had a look of surprise on his face and then he heard the happenings downstairs.

"Well that's it then," Remus announced. "We'll do that. But if he begins to show any signs of returning to the dark Lord, he's out." There was a resounding agreement among the people gathered in the downstairs sitting room and the sound of chairs moving and feet shuffling.

"Was that about you, Regulus?" Sirius' face and tone had suddenly become hard. He let out a deep breath, putting his arm around his only brother. "I'll talk to them."

Sirius made his way down the stairs with Cerise in tow. Regulus stared after them for a moment and then he too, followed. 'This will go well.' He thought sarcastically. 'Why the hell is Snape here?' Regulus snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Sirius speak.

"Mornin'". He made his way to the kitchen, stopping once in front of Snape, giving him a nasty look. "Sniveley!"

"Don't even, just continue on about your business." Snape snapped. This little bit of exchange between the two old enemies ended with a very silent Sirius leaving for the kitchen and an air of tension among the few people left sitting in the room. Cerise and Regulus stayed silent near the stair banister stealing glances at each other and back at the small group sitting in the dusty living room. Remus was the first to invite them to join him and the others. If they were going to discuss Regulus, he might as well hear what's being said.

"We were just discussing you, Regulus." The boy remained silent. "And may I ask who you may be?" Remus questioned at Cerise as she was taking a seat. Tonks was studying her nails. Regulus remained standing.

"Cerise. I played a big part in Sirius's mischief a few days back." She introduced as she shook hands with Remus and sat down in an empty seat.

"Ah. Pleasure."

Tonks made way to speak in a friendly manner to Cerise, and the two quickly became friends. Snape was the first to interrupt their budding friendship.

"Ahem. Girls, if we could discuss further, please, the matter of young Black?" The two girls looked offended but quieted anyway. "Regulus. We have a proposition for you."

Regulus glanced at Snape with weary eyes and gave a sort of half smile. This smile was the same smile that Sirius was so well known for.

"And what would that be? Be some sort of spy?" Snape's eyes lightened up even he smiled now, though it was more malevolent than any kind of nice.

"Not even close. How would you feel being hired as a sort of…erm bodyguard of sorts?"

The boy's half smile removed itself and was replaced by pursed lips and a confused expression on that near perfectly chiseled face.

"You want me to…what now?"

"Be Harry's bodyguard." Tonks repeated. "We all feel you'd do a wonderful job at that."

"Me? Look after him?" he asked, pointing to Harry, who had still not spoken a word. "What's in it for me?" When he said this the room hushed. No one had thought that far ahead, really.

"Erm…well," Remus started, "You can continue living as you are, with the Order's protection."

"And if I refuse, I die…again."

Tonks spoke first this time. "Well no…er should you refuse, whatever happens, happens, and we cannot interfere with it." She looked around at the heads sitting in the room and they all seemed to nod in reluctant agreement.

"Right then…" Regulus began as he turned around to go into the kitchen. "I'll think about it." And the doors to the kitchen closed behind him.

… … …

Regulus walked into the kitchen to see his older brother trying to make a peanut butter sandwich, and failing miserably.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Regulus asked. Sirius stopped what he was doing, which, at that moment, was holding a cup full of peanuts and a cup of water over something that looked like a tall cup with razors at the bottom. "And what is that?"

Sirius looked from his brother to the mysterious object, back to his brother again. "This is a blender. It's a muggle object. Hermione told me about it." Obviously proud of his newly found knowledge of muggle objects, he didn't realize that he'd completely skipped the first question.

Regulus repeated his first question. "And, what are you doing?" Sirius once again looked at the object and the things in his hands, then to his young brother.

"I'm…making peanut butter. What's it look like?" He answered, as he continued pouring the water and peanuts into the blender.

"Are you mad?" Regulus snapped. "You can't make peanut butter from peanuts and water!"

Sirius stopped in his pouring and removed his finger from the 'start' button. "I knew that. I was seeing what you would do…" He put down the cup and water and tapped the blender with his wand to clear it.

"You're shitting me, right? You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am, dear brother, for that is my name." He flashed that smile of his and patted Regulus' shoulder. Regulus flinched and duffed Sirius's head.

"You are such an idiot." He made his way to a seat at the table, scratching his head. "Well they're letting me live, for now."

"Oh well that's good." Sirius took a seat opposite his brother, and picked up his sad looking snack. "Hungry?" Regulus didn't look up. Instead he chose a spot on the table that looked to have been burnt off and stared a hole in it. Thinking only of what the groups 'proposition' had been.

"What's that Harry kid like?" He inquired. Sirius stopped in his chewing and looked hard at the boy in front of him.

"He's a lot like his mother, really. But then a little like his father. Sweet boy though. Very selfless; which, I think, gets him into loads of trouble. Why?"

Regulus pried his eyes from the burn spot and placed them on the ceiling light above. "They want me to be his bodyguard." Sirius placed his dilapidated sandwich back on the plate and burst out laughing.

"Are they serious, a bodyguard? Not saying you couldn't do it, but really, what's the kid need a…a bodyguard for? He's already got a whole Order to protect him, as well as several thousand other witches and wizards on his side."

"Yeah well…" Regulus' chair scraped the floor as he stood up. "I don't need to give them an answer right away, but, they did say that if I took their job then I'd be under their protection."

Sirius finished his sandwich and stood up as well, crossing over to the sink to place his plate in among all the other dishes that needed washing. "Really though, what do I need their protection for?"

"Now now, it's always good to have a condom…"

"Sirius, stop now before I hurt you."

"Yessir."

… … …

It was not even three in the afternoon, but the young Black still felt he needed a nap. He retired to his room to collect his thoughts and possibly nap a while, as he was prone to do. He collapsed on his bed, still messed up from that morning. He never did like making his bed sheets look neat. He remembered Mrs. Black would come bustling in and doing it for him because she was expecting company and she wanted every room looking as tight as her hair bun. Regulus would only try to argue that he seriously doubted that her company would want to come upstairs to see his room. Every time someone did come into the Black residence, he would meet with them briefly downstairs, and then return to his dark lit room to do whatever it is that he did. Normally that would be to put on some music and find a good book. He had a hidden stash of food and butterbeer, and sometimes, firewiskey underneath his floorboards. It was located under his bookshelf, where it was well hidden from sight. It would have never been found unless you knew where to look. After Sirius had left, Regulus snuck into the runaway's room and took all of his own stash, which consisted of three aged bottles of expensive wine that Sirius had stolen from the market just down the street.

'I figure I'm old enough to drink this stuff legally now.' He mused, never mind that he'd been drinking since Sirius had poured the first glass for him when he was only thirteen. He poured himself a glass of aged firewiskey. 'Bodyguard eh; and for that little brat too, no less. Mother would have my head.' Part of him was still loyal to that woman and his family, but part of him wanted to still rebel in whatever way he could. 'Well either way, I will still live. What do I need their protection from anyway?' He pondered a while more on this, weighing the pros and cons and realized, there really were not many cons to the situation that had unfolded to him. The only big thing he could think of was that the dark lord would find out he had been a traitor and kill him again in an instant. He'd already been there and done that. He really didn't care now. He emptied his glass and prepared to pour another glass of firewiskey. It was then that Sirius's barking laughter came from the hall and his fists pounded on Regulus' large mahogany door.

"Reggie! Regs we're going out to dinner, how 'bout coming along? It'll be great!" Regulus pushed the various stash items back into their place and moved the bookshelf back over the hole in the floorboard. "It'll be good for you to get out of this damned house, don't you think?"

"Yeah, hold up. I'll be right out." And with that he quickly threw on clothes that looked acceptable to go outside in.


	7. Chapter 7

Resurrection

Chapter 7

Wrinkles

D: I do not own anything Harry Potter related and I am nowhere near as great a writer as JKR is.

Dinner was silent. It must've looked a very awkward scene to the other establishment guests and employees. The members of the Order were doing their best to not offend Sirius or Regulus and so no one spoke a word for nearly all of the meal. Harry kept looking up from his plate eyeing Regulus with intense curiosity. This did not go unnoticed, earning a small kick from Hermoine who was sitting next to him.

"Anyone need their tea refilled?" Came the voice of their server, she sounded quite chipper and lightened the dark cloud looming over the table at the moment. A couple grunts to indicate 'yes' came from Remus, Harry and Ron. The girl filled their glasses and was gone. Sirius, unable to take the quiet any longer stood up with his glass and began to speak.

"I know this an...unusual turn of events...but even still, let's not be like this, all quiet and such. It's nerve-wracking."

All eyes turned onto him. He began pacing the table glass in hand, stopping to stand behind Harry.

"Surely we can think of a good dinner conversation."

Hermoine piped up, sounding rather excited. "Krookshanks is going to be a father!"

Tonk's eyes lit up "Oh I just love kittens! Could I have one?"

Hermoine smiled, "Of course you can!"

There was congratulations all around the table, effectively brightening the mood. Who doesn't love kittens?

"There, see? I knew someone had some good news for us!" Sirius laughed.

For the rest of dinner things were more cheery, even Regulus joined in the jokes and good conversation. The group stayed until closing when they were essentially shooed out by the staff. Most of the group went their separate ways, leaving just Harry, Regulus and Sirius at the Black Manor. Harry went straight up to wash up for bed letting the brothers have some time alone.

… … …

"I'm impressed." Sirius began "You warmed up to them quite quickly." He smiled at Regulus, who was currently sitting down in the big comfy armchair watching the lit fire.

"Why?"

"Pardon me?" Sirius was a bit taken aback by that question. It seemed to have come from nowhere.

"You know damn well what I ask." Regulus continued. He didn't take his eyes off the fire. "I'll ask again. Why? Why bring me back here? I didn't think you'd care much that I had...gone..."

Sirius moved closer to Regulus and knelt down beside the chair. He sighed heavily and turned his gaze to the fire.

"Because you are my only brother. Because despite what you might think, I never stopped caring for you. Because..." He trailed off. Could he say it? Could he admit to himself and to Regulus the guilt that he felt? Regulus deserved to know that much after everything that had happened. "I should have taken you with me when I left home."

Regulus turned his head toward Sirius, studying his features. His mouth contorted into a crooked smile. "You're getting old Sirius. Look at those eye wrinkles!"

Sirius stopped his thoughts to face his brother. A look of confusion plastered on his face. "Don't change the subject," he said, slapping the back of Regulus's head. "I'm trying to have a moment here."

"Okay, okay!" Regulus whined, rubbing the back of his now aching head. "All jokes aside, would you really have done it?"

Sirius turned back to the now dying fire. "Yes. I would have, had things not turned out the way they did and I wasn't so self-interested."

The two brothers sat in silence for a moment when Sirius once again spoke up. "Do I really have eye wrinkles?" Regulus only answered with a snort and stood up from the chair making his way towards the stairs.

"Night, Sirius." He gave one final smile, something he'd been doing a lot more of lately. It was a nice change he thought. He received the same well wishes from his brother, who had not moved from his spot.

Sirius' mind was still on one thought. "Eye wrinkles?"

So here it is, a new chapter! I hope it is up to standards. I really do appreciate those who have stuck around and I even have gotten some new fans of the story. I really was not expecting that. I'll be updating more regularly now I think.

Thank you as always, Kelleyphant


	8. Chapter 8

Resurrection

Chapter 8

Lost In My Mind

* * *

D: Why even have a disclaimer anymore?

The next morning Regulus went back to school.

It had been agreed upon that Regulus would look out for Harry when Snape couldn't. It was determined that Regulus would fit in quite nicely, as he didn't look a day over fifteen. Dumbledore saw to it that Regulus would remain in Slytherin. This move also benefited Draco, unbeknownst to Harry or the Order, so that he too could have some sort of protection. It was a secret agreement between Regulus and Snape, not to be mentioned to anyone else.

Regulus was curled up quietly on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room. He hadn't been in this room for years and the only thing that had changed was updated couches. He remember the old ones vividly. They were a horrible vomit green color, hardly worthy of being in the Slytherin common room. These new ones were a rich chocolatey brown leather. Green throw pillows adorned the new couches and there was a silver blanket draped over the side of one of the arms of each one. Regulus was relieved the room was empty but for him. This golden opportunity let him drift away in thought. He had to admit to himself that he was thrilled to be back in Hogwarts. In the past the school to him was the safest and most pleasant place to be. He had always enjoyed his classes in general and took some comfort in the fact that he didn't have to be around his overbearing, wretched mother. Now wasn't really much different.

Regulus wondered if he could use this 'rebirth' of sorts to really reconnect with his brother. It wasn't that he had a grudge, he was almost envious of Sirius. Regulus hadn't been strong enough to avoid the sinister plans his lineage had set up for him. You couldn't choose into what family you were born into, he knew that, but you could leave them. You could choose to dismiss them. He internally kicked himself for being too stupid to realize it sooner. Clearly, his supposed dullard of an older brother had been more insightful. This time Regulus would not be stupid.

He was so lost in his mind that the sudden swing of the hallway door startled him. It was only a few of the girls he recognized now as Pansy Parka-something and those Greengrass twins. They were giggling about something, probably something stupid and possibly cruel. Regulus was beginning to question whether he really did belong in Slytherin. Ravenclaw didn't seem to be so bad, there were at least prettier looking girls in that house. He now found the Slyth girls to be quite mean looking, their faces were always contorted into a scowly face and they reminded Regulus of his mother. The thoughts vanished when one of the girls called out to him.

"You there, what're you doing all by your self over there?" It was that Pansy girl. My god she was nosy. "Didn't you just transfer in? And in the middle of the school year too. How strange." Such tact this girl had.

"Yeah." He quickly muttered. "Just pondering life. It's quite enlightening. Everyone could benefit from forgetting about themselves for a moment." Regulus spit out as he pushed himself off the couch. He didn't feel like having to deal with this today. As he made his way out of the portrait and into the dungeon hallways he could feel two beady eyes stare at his backside.

Where was the next place he could go that he wouldn't be bothered? He was making his way through the dungeon halls, remembering every turn and every dead end. He was still so lost in thought that he bumped into a younger student, probably a first year.

"Ah, sorry kid." He began picking up the mountain of scrolls that had dropped. The young boy looked shocked. Regulus surmised it was because a resident of the Slytherin house was apologizing and helping pick up the papers.

"T-thank you...I-I'm so sorry sir of the slytherin house...I'm always being told to stop rushing, b-but I-" The boy stammered out, seemingly without taking a single breath. Regulus only chuckled. Sir of the Slytherin house? That was a new one. The boy seemed to cower when Regulus chuckled.

"You look lost. Where were you trying to go? I'll go with you."

The boy was once again stunned. "P-professor Snape's office."

That was something Regulus could not get used to. Snape had become a professor. A damn fine one at that too. From what he heard, Snape ruled his classes with an iron fist. "Well come on, you just passed it." The boy followed Regulus with bated breath, a look of terror in his eyes. "Can I ask what has you so frightened?"

"Well sir, Professor Snape is a very, very scary man."

Regulus couldn't help but laugh at the boys remark. They reached the office door and Regulus confidently banged on the frosted glass. "Scary?" The boy gave a short but stern nod of his head. "Nah, no he's just..." What was Severus? Bitter? In denial? Perpetually constipated? That was the one. "Perpetually constipated." Regulus blurted out right as Snape pulled open the door. The young boys face lit up into a huge smile and laughed, clutching his chest thus dropping all the rolled parchments again.

Severus Snape was visibly confused, giving Regulus his most frightening stink-eye. Regulus only smiled. The boy quickly regained his composure, snapping to attention. He faced Snape with a bright look in his eye. He dropped to the ground to once again pick up the papers. "H-heres the classwork you wanted me to collect and bring to you."

"Excellent." Snape responded, not taking his eyes off Regulus. That skinny brat had to have said something to make the young boy go into a fit of hysterics. "You're dismissed Timothy." The boy flashed a bright smile, seemingly no longer afraid of the big bad professor. He ran off to the dungeon exit and disappeared. "What do you want, Black?"

Regulus stuffed his hands in his pockets while shrugging his shoulders. "Nothin'. Just showing the kid your office." Snape looked him over for half a second, then, finding nothing wrong huffed back into his office, leaving a smug Regulus at the door. "You're turning into that damn brother of yours."

"Ah come on, that's not exactly fair." Regulus leaned his body on the doorframe and crossed his arms. "What, you didn't have any fun? I seem to remember a certain half blood prince making pranks of his own on fellow students some years ago."

Snape looked up from his desk with a faint smile on his face. "Yes, that was several years ago, more than I care to admit." He motioned to the door. "Now are you just going to stand there all day letting the cold air in or are you going to sit down?"

"Actually I was thinking of going out to the Three Broomsticks, _Professor_." He made sure to emphasize the last word. "Would you care to join me or are you above being seen out with your _students_?"

* * *

Snape thought this offer over for only a second or so. He did have a lot of papers to look at, but he really needed to get out of the stuffy castle for a while. Regulus hadn't changed a bit. When they were both students at the school the younger boy was always a persuasive son of a bitch. "Fine. Whatever will get me out of this damn office for a while." 


	9. Chapter 9

Resurrection

Chapter 9

Champagne Haircut

**SO. That last one was written very quickly and it just kind of barfed itself out, so...here's this one. I was sort of on a writing roll, though they're mostly fillers I suppose. I will warn you that there may be a lot of ooc in this chapter. I meant it that way.**

**D: trolololololol**

* * *

Sirius Black stood in front of the bathroom sink, staring at the mirror. There, plain as day were those damn eye wrinkles. They shouldn't bother him, but for whatever reason they really did. He genuinely believed at one point in his life he was going to be young forever. He and James Potter, no, the Marauders had it all. They were best friends and always got what they wanted. Wormtail didn't count, he didn't really count all that much to begin with. He was a tagalong in their minds. Now, only he - Padfoot, and Moony remained.

When Sirius was satisfied with his inspection he closed up his bathrobe and shuffled back into his bedroom. He really didn't know what he was going to do with himself today. It wasn't like he could leave and take a day trip out to Diagon Alley. He really wanted to get out though. Suddenly, it hit him, he could traverse the muggle city of London! Why hadn't he thought of that before?

"Kreacher!" He called out. The old creature popped into Sirius' room. "Kreacher! Ready my motorbike, I'm going out. Do not let anyone in while I am gone. Got it?"

The decrepit elf nodded slowly, rubbing his hands together in a menacing way. "Yes, Master Sirius." With that Sirius finished dressing himself, trying to look presentable. '_I need a haircut. That will be my first order of business_.' Sirius was going to be a muggle today. He would get his hair cut, sit in traffic for hours and eat lunch like a muggle. He remembered James, Remus and himself doing the same thing some twenty years ago. James had rented a couple of hotel rooms in downtown London, close to everything considered hip. Sirius remembered having a blast then. He decided it was high time to revisit downtown London. It was just unfortunate James couldn't be there this time. Sirius stepped outside of 12 Grimmauld place and mounted his steed of a motorbike.

Meanwhile.

… … …

"I never did that!"

Severus and Regulus were also remembering the past.

"Oh no? Well I have twenty galleons and four – count them – four witnesses that can testify that on the last night of classes, you, Severus Snape practically snogged a Blast Ended Skewt!" An exceedingly happy Regulus sloppily held up five fingers in front of the increasingly embarrassed professor. "It would've blasted your whole fuckin' face off had Evans not come to your rescue!"

"I must have not been in my right mind." Severus glanced over at the bartender with the signal for the tab.

"Oh you were so pissed, my friend. So pissed!" Regulus was obviously having a grand old time.

"Yes well where are your witnesses?"

"My wha? Oh! Well one was Evans, of course, that Minnie Harper girl, me, and...that one guy that had a pizza face. I can't for the life of me remember his name."

Snape sat straight up in his chair when he spotted minerva McGonagall step through the door of the pub. She looked like she was on the hunt for someone or something. Regulus kept right on going with his train of thought. "I wonder what happened to Minnie. I did fancy her, you know."

"Wonderful Black. Hush now. McGonagall is on the hunt."

At that moment the woman in question spotted the two snakes sitting at a corner of the pub. Regulus was hiding behind the older man and Severus was looking straight ahead, examining the beer taps on the bar. Suddenly they seemed so interesting.

"Merlin's beard, I've been looking all over for you two!" She paused as she caught sight of Regulus. He wasn't as well hidden as he thought he was. "Regulus? Is he drunk, Severus?" She snapped at Snape, who was currently twirling his near empty glass of beer avoiding any eye contact. McGonagall huffed and plopped down on the barstool next to Snape. She eyed him for what seemed like several minutes. "Unbelievable."

"What? Do you expect me to just sit in my office all day and grade illegible parchment?"

"I expect you to have the decency not to bring along a...minor to a pub. Look at him. He can't even keep his head up. Merlin, Severus!"

"He dragged me here. He's a very persuasive little git." He knew he was being childish, but at this point he was far from caring. Minerva shot him a look of disbelief then stood up and looked at the two.

"I'll just talk to you later. Please, when you're both sober." With that she briskly walked out of the pub, oddly resembling a cat. Regulus spoke up.

"She should lighten up I think." His statement only received a knock from Snapes' fist on his head.

… … …

Meanwhile on the streets of downtown London. Sirius Black was really enjoying himself. He had eaten breakfast at this lovely cafe. He couldn't remember the name of it, but that wasn't important. Now he was on his way to get his hair cut. He had to admit he was slightly nervous about the idea of someone scissoring his hair off, but if he could fight against evil wizards, he could get his hair chopped off by professional muggles. He parked his bike in front of a salon and confidently strolled in like he was muggle himself.

"Hello sir, welcome to Birdhouse Salon (A/N: made up name, it sounded good), how may we help you today?" A very pretty young girl welcomed Sirius in with a bright smile.

"Ah yes, do you accept walk-ins?"

"We sure do. It'll be just a moment if you want to sit over there." She pointed to a small sitting area decorated with plush white shag rugs and comfy looking red couches. "Could I get you a coffee, champagne, or anything else?"

Sirius smiled at the girl. This place was impressive and the staff were very kind. "Oh er...water will be just fine. Thank you miss." The girl smiled once again and spun on her heel to a table full of refreshments.

Sirius was entranced by the loveliness of it all. The stark white brick walls were lined with salon booths and all sorts of decorations. There was a grand chandelier on the ceiling that reflected beautifully on the black wood floors. This place had class. Who offered champagne to their clients? Birdhouse Salon, that's who. The girl briskly walked to the sitting area with a glass of water in hand.

"Here you are, sir. Miss Amy will be taking care of you today." Another bright smile and she returned to the front desk. '_This place is magnificent_!' he thought. While he sipped on his water and flipped through a muggle magazine Miss Amy came up to him. She was a very pretty and petite blonde woman, she may as well have been a Veela.

"Hi, I'm Amy, and you are?"

"Uh...Sirius." No sense in making up a fake name. "My mother had a wonderful sense of humor."

"Ah, no, it's a good name I think." She said with a smile. Sirius couldn't tell, but he thought he was blushing. "So come on, let's get you back there. Anything you had in mind?" She hammered out while leading Sirius to her booth.

"No. Do with it what you will. I will put complete trust in you." She gave him a strange look. "I'm not joking. I really have no clue about this...hair on my head. You're the professional, I'll leave it up to you." She was still giving him a strange look but was smiling. "No pressure or anything." She burst into laughter and motioned for Sirius to sit down in the chair.

… … …

Harry was just finishing up an essay for Charms class when Ron busted into the Gryffindor common room looking a bit rough. Ron walked right up to Harry and said in a grumbly, tired voice. "Harry." When Harry ignored him, he tried it again, this time, much louder. "Harry!" Harry jumped up from the table, spilling a bit of ink on the parchment and nearly on his robes.

"Oh it's just you, Ron." Harry cleaned the ink off of the table and his parchments thanking Merlin it was salvageable. "What's up?"

"I'm tired of studying. I'm bored and Hermione ran off to see Madame Pomphrey. How about we go see what Hagrid's up to?"

Harry looked down at his nearly finished paper. "Okay, I've just got to have one more sentence and then we can go."

"Great! I'll just grab my coat. It's gotten chilly out there." Ron had barely made it up the stairs when he was stopped by Harry.

"Ron, why is Hermione seeing Madame Pomphrey?"

"Oh I dunno. Something about debilitating cramps that make you hate everyone and everything." Ron's face was stoic but his voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't like talking to her when she gets like that. She's very scary."

Harry knew all too well what Ron was talking about, Hermione had always been scary, but she got downright mean at a certain time of the month, and it wasn't werewolf related.

… … …

After spending nearly all afternoon at the Three Broomsticks the two snakes decided to leave. It was close to dinner time and they really needed to get back to the school. They were both more sober now which for Snape, meant he had to return to the stack of parchments in his office. Regulus really did not want to go back to the dorm for fear that the Pansy girl was still there. Sure enough she was there in the common room, clinging onto poor Draco. The young Malfoy looked disgusted and Regulus wondered why he didn't just get up.

"Where have you been all day?" Regulus heard from the couch. It was Draco.

"I went out with Snape for a little while. Now I'm going to nap for a little bit before dinner."

Pansy lifted her head from Draco's shoulder in a flash of confusion. "Was he stumbling? What was his name again?" Draco snapped his head at her, the look of disgust again on his face.

"Didn't I tell you to get off of me? And how can you not know his name? You live with him."

Pansy genuinely looked confused. "Well fine. What's his name then? You know I don't pay attention much to newcomers."

"Obviously." Draco wrestled himself out of her grasp and walked to the tea that had just finished brewing. "His name is Charlie Wicks. And don't bother trying to cling on to him, he won't find you attractive."

"But you do?" The girl eyed Draco curiously.

What would the nicest way to put her down? "...God no, What gave you that idea?" Pansy dropped her mouth, making her look more ridiculous than she already did and then stormed off to the girls rooms. '_That...probably wasn't the best way to let her down...oh well, it got her to shut up_.' He stood at the tea tray for a moment longer, stirring in the sugar. He got a good laugh at the faces Pansy made. She was always good for entertainment at her expense. Reliable too, as she kept coming back like nothing had happened.

… … …

"There you are, Mr. Black, all done!" Ms. Anna the amazing hairstylist had finally finished her newest masterpiece, Sirius' shaggy head of hair. "How do you like it?"

Sirius stared into the mirror, hardly believing it was himself. "It's fantastic! I'm shocked you could do something with that mess."

"Oh it was nothing, considering what I have had to work with in the past." She gave him a pat on the shoulders, then lowered her mouth to his ears. "Say hello to dear Regulus for me. I haven't seen him in years."

Sirius stiffened in his seat. "You know my brother?" The only answer he got was a sly half smile before she walked off to the back room.

* * *

**Right so, another filler I suppose. I'm really good at writing those. So Ms. Amy...odd...who is she, what does she know, and why does she know it?**

**Thank you readers, I love you, I really do. Right now I'm going to give love to **

**I-Love-Trunks1: I love Trunks too.**

**Freya**

**MissSadieKane: I didn't even think of using a fake name until you mentioned it, so thanks!**

**Blizzen**

**So thanks again, and remember, review, review, review! Cause it's what makes this story go round.**

**-Kelley**


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